Nine Alumni, Two Faculty Publish Genetics Research

Dr. Sheryl Smith and Dr. Carlos Ortiz, along with student coauthors Frederic J. Deuschle ’12, Lauren A. DiLorenzo ’12, Katie L. Goeller ’12, Christopher R. Macchi ’12, Sarah E. Muller ’13M, Brittany D. Pasierb ’13M, Joseph E. Sable ’11, Jessica M. Tucci ’12, and Marykathryn Tynon ’13M, were part of more than 1,000 authors who collectively published “Drosophila Muller F Elements Maintain a Distinct Set of Genomic Properties Over 40 Million Years of Evolution” in the May issue of G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, a journal published by the Genetics Society of America. The article features the largest number of authors ever published in the journal.

Students researched the evolution of the “dot chromosome” in fruit flies, which is made up of an unusually high amount of gene activity. The DNA strands that make up these dot chromosome genes are easier to unwind, allowing better access to the proteins that turn genes on and off.